We have had a property listed for the last 2 months. We’ve had many viewings but no offers as of late last week (past Friday Feb 8 2008.) Trying to get some action we did the following…
On Friday afternoon Feb 8 2008 with the intentions/hopes of generating an offer or perhaps even multiple offers we sent an “Amendment form” to our Realtor (discount brokerage) on Feb 8th 2008 with the following (3) changes …
price reduction from 439 900 to 405 000
feautures now do not include; hot tub, drapes. fridge, stove. dishwasher, washer /dryer.
change of buyers agents commission from 3% on the first $100 000 and 1% on the remaining amount to> 3.5% on the first $100 000 and 1.25% on the remaining amount plus a $2000 bonus
Yesterday Sunday Feb 10 2008 we received an offer that was (dated Feb 8 2008) an offer that is for $430 000 subject to inspection etc… but they the buyers and their agent are not yet aware of the Amendment sent it late Friday as it has not yet been posted to the MLS but it’s in the que.
So late Sunday Feb 10 2008 I sent my discount Realtor agent in but another Amendment to send off to the MLS which he told me verbally that he did late last night with all of the FEB 8 clauses. So both are in the que to be uploaded to the MLS.
So heres’ where it’s at…
I want to accept their offer but what about"disclosures issues" of the 2 Amendments.
You have an offer. If you sign it, it becomes a binding contract for all involved parties regardless of what amendment to the listing may be out there.
If you decline it, then you are square one and the interested party can choose to write a new contract that reflects your publicly advertised revised terms of the listing.
Unless designated by the buyers, an agent cannot rescind an offer as they are not party to the contract . If both parties have signed , the contents in the contract are binding. Here the agent is, to some degree, looking out for #1 as the difference in the original $430K offer and the $405K offer is $1762 in commission. I expect you will profit from this transaction but for less $ by accepting the $405K offer. However, I suspect if you hold out for the higher offer, it may fall thru AND you may be subject to a big credibility problem. Real estate investing has a lot to do with reputation. In some ways agents are thick as thieves and could poison you in not only this deal but in future transactions.
Please bear with me. I am not that seasoned, but I do have a question. If your property is listed in the MLS, you have a listing agent, right? Why isn’t the buyer’s representative talking to your agent instead of dealing directly with you?
In my area of the country, a discount broker is a full service broker who works on a 4% commission (3% to buyers agency, 1% to himself). The listing agent is involved in all aspects of the sale.
I take it you are really doing a FSBO and are paying a flat-rate MLS listing fee to an agency like HelpUSell.